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I have made
it my practice in recent years to pray for people when they come to mind. There is no better time to pray than when you
are thinking of someone. I also receive
many text messages, emails, and phone calls with prayer requests. It is too easy to say that you will pray and
then forget about the person or issue. I
have made it my practice to stop what I am doing and pray for that person as
soon as I hear the request. Not only do
I pray for individuals when I think of them or receive a prayer request, but I
also pray for our church as often as I think to pray. I cannot give you all of the content of my
prayers for the church, but I can say that I thank the Lord for all of you; I
thank Him for our leadership; I thank Him for those who serve here; I thank Him
for your generosity; I also pray that He would continue to bless us; I ask that
He would make us to grow in our knowledge of Him; I ask that He would give us a
fruitful ministry, loving hearts, unity, and a continued willingness to
minister to the nations with the Good News of Christ. These are just some of the things that I
continually pray for our church. Let me
ask you: Do you pray for us? What is the
content of your prayers for the church here in Rural Hall?

After
stating the context of his prayers for the Philippians and the reasons for
thanksgiving, now Paul gives us the content of his prayers for the church. He will broaden his explanation of what he
meant by the “good work” that was started in them.

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Abounding Love (9)

Last week,
we discussed Paul’s thankfulness for the Philippians. They had become wonderful ministry
partners. The apostle was often reminded
of their willingness to support him and his Gospel ministry. Paul said that when he thought of them, he
could not help but give thanks. He told
them that he made requests to God for them in prayer, and now he gives them
some of the content of those prayers.

When Paul
writes a letter to his congregations, he often shares some of the content of
his ongoing prayers for them. This
letter is no different. Here, in verses
9-11 is Paul’s prayer for the Philippians.
In the New Testament, prayer is commanded, assumed, and
exemplified. The Lord Jesus taught the
disciples to pray, and Paul is no different.
By his own testimony we learn that he was constantly in prayer for his
churches throughout the Empire.

The first
part of his prayer is that the Philippians’ love would abound more and more in
knowledge and all discernment.
Apparently, love is something that had marked the Philippian church for
some time (it is supposed to mark all Christian churches. Paul is not rebuking them for their lack of
love. Rather, he is encouraging them to
love more and more.

Notice that
a Christian’s growth in love is a result of his/her growth in knowledge. So then, Christian love is not mushy or flaky. It is linked with our spiritual
learnedness. Let me point out a few more
things here. I think that Paul is
talking about their capacity for love.
He wants to see their capacity to love abound more and more. They are already loving, but he wants them to
become even more loving. A Christian’s
capacity to love God and people can continue to develop throughout their
life. The question is, How does this growth
happen? The apostle communicates that we
become more loving the more we increase in our knowledge of the things of
Christ and in spiritual discernment.

Discerning Excellence (10)

The word
“excellent” or “best” is the same word used by Jesus in Matt 6:26 and 10:31.
These two places give us examples of what Paul means. God can look at sparrows
and people and clearly see that people are of much more value. Paul’s prayer is
that the Philippians will be able to have the same kind of discernment.
Christians ought to be able to look at situations, decisions, even temptations
and clearly know what is the more excellent way.

The
Philippians (and us) needed an ever-abounding knowledge so that they could know
the things that really matter, the things to which they should be devoted
(excellent/sincere). Notice that the
apostle makes love something of the mind.
Love abounds where there is knowledge, discernment, approval, and
sincerity. Also, it is not a bad idea to
be “without offense till the day of Christ.” Abounding in love, abounding in a
thorough knowledge, and approving the things that are excellent will go a long
way to helping a believer remain without offense. I think this tells us
something about some people. If all they ever do is pick little arguments or
make a “big stink” about things that do not matter then they are probably not
growing in love or knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord. If you know someone in
the church that is sincere about all the wrong things then pray this prayer for
them.

Being Filled (11)

We should
want for ourselves, our families, and our church to arrive at the Day of Christ
“filled with the fruits of righteousness.” What a marvelous picture! I see a
link here with the “fruit of the Spirit” found in Galatians 5:22. I think these
two phrases parallel one another because Paul adds the phrase here, “which are
by Jesus Christ.” The fruits that Paul wants for the Philippians are “by Christ
Jesus” much like the fruit that Paul wanted for the Galatians was “of the
Spirit.” The righteous fruits that God desires He also works in the life of the
believer. They are by Christ Jesus, of His Spirit which is in our hearts. God
has “given us the Spirit in our hearts.” That is why God is found to be most
glorious. Paul finishes the passage with the phrase “to the glory and praise of
God.”

Conclusion and Christian Application

(1) One simple, but helpful, definition
given for this kind of love is the “placing of high value on a person.” If you
place a high value on someone then you will go out of your way to benefit them.
You will go above-and-beyond to comfort, aid, bless, care for, and preserve
their life. He is not rebuking them for a lack of love, but prays that God will
continue what He started in them.

(2) God is the One who starts the good work
in us and He is the One who will complete that work until the Day of Christ.
The “fruits of righteousness” that we long to be filled with are “by Christ
Jesus…of the Spirit.” We cannot boast. It is not of us that anything good will
come. It is by the work of God. It is all to His glory. We must recognize God
as most glorious for what He has done and what He will do and respond in praise
to Him.

As I
thought about an introduction and sharing some background about the Philippian
church, I decided that reading several verses from Paul’s trip to Philippi was
too good to pass up. Take a look at Acts 16.

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Greetings and the Background
(1-2)

Paul
follows the standard protocol for the opening of an ancient letter. He names
himself along with Timothy as the writers/senders; next, he names the
recipients; and lastly, he gives a greeting. This is normal structure, but what
he says is far from normal. Let me say something about those three parts.

The
letter comes from Paul and Timothy. Paul is an Apostle, and Timothy is his
disciple-associate. Paul was made the Apostle to the Gentiles by the Lord
Jesus. Thus, Paul traveled all over the Roman Empire spreading the Good News
about Christ crucified and raised from the dead. He was planting churches with
the help of people like Timothy. The Philippian church had been planted by Paul
on his second missionary journey. We are told that Timothy joined up with Paul,
Silas, and Luke, and, shortly thereafter, the team went to Philippi, among
other places. Ultimately, Paul was forced to leave the city, but he would not
forget the Philippians or lose touch with them. They became great missionary
partners who supported him financially, in prayer, and with encouragement.
Interestingly, when Paul states his name and title here at the beginning of the
letter, he does not say what he usually does. He usually identifies himself as
an Apostle (which he was), but on this occasion he only states that he and
Timothy are slaves of Christ. Why did he leave out his authoritative title? It
is most simply understood that Paul had no need to restate his authority. The
Philippians respected and honored him as an Apostle with no doubts. The lack of
the title demonstrates the warm relationship between Paul and the Philippian
church. So, we will see that a key theme in this letter is “joy.” There was
lots of joy because of this relationship.

The
recipients of this encouraging letter are the saints in Philippi. The word
“saints” means “holy ones.” To be a saint is not to be a super-Christian or to
be absolutely perfect. To be a saint means that you are “in Christ Jesus.” The
Philippians were holy in Christ, and so are you.

When
Paul writes this letter, he is not with the Philippians. In fact, he had to
leave them before he was ready. Now he is writing back to them, and he finds
himself in prison again, but with great encouragement. The Apostle wants to
commend his friends for their support. On several occasions the believers in
Philippi sent contributions to Paul so that he could continue to devote himself
to the teaching of the Gospel. Each time Paul received financial support from
the Philippians he not only had needs met, but was also greatly encouraged. A
close bond had developed between Paul and the Philippian church. When a
collection was being received from all of the churches to take to Jerusalem
during a great famine, Paul was not going to ask the Philippians to give. They
had already given him much support and were not as financially stable as
before. Yet, when they heard of the need, they stepped up and gave beyond what
they could really afford. Paul successfully delivered the gift to the church in
Jerusalem, but was soon imprisoned because of many Jewish opponents. He was
imprisoned for two years waiting his fate. During that time the Philippians
longed to help Paul, but were not given the opportunity. Finally, many months
later, the Philippians were able once again to help Paul. Paul was in prison
when he wrote the letter and had just received the monetary gift from them.

The
leaders in the Philippian church are singled out from the whole. The bishops
(literally “overseers,” also known in the NT as pastors, shepherds, elders) and
deacons are called out from “all the saints…in Philippi.” Paul, undoubtedly,
wanted to honor these men for their partnership in the work of the Gospel, but
also wanted to recognize them as the ones responsible for the application of the
things written by Paul in the letter. The overseers were responsible for
ensuring that the teaching of Paul was assimilated into the assemblies. They
were responsible for teaching, overseeing, administrating, and caring for the
people. We cannot be completely sure of all that deacons did in the early
church, but the word itself literally means “to serve.” The NT suggests that
the deacons served in many official capacities according to the direction of
the overseers.

The
third part of the opening verses is the greeting: “Grace and peace to you from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” While most letters in the ancient
world, and even today, would have had some type of greeting at the beginning,
Paul’s is uniquely Christian. Grace has been extended to all who will believe
in Christ, that is, undeserved forgiveness and favor. Peace has been made by
the precious blood of Christ. Both grace and peace come from “from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is the Gospel that Paul maintains.

Thanksgiving (3-8)

Do
you have someone who has greatly influenced you? Do you have someone who, when
you think of them, you have to thank God for him/her? Do you thank God for
their gifts, their influence, the blessings, their love? The Philippians were
just that for Paul. Every time Paul went to prayer he spoke up in behalf of the
Philippians. He wanted God to pour out mercies on them. He wanted great
spiritual blessings for them.

The
Gospel is our fellowship. It is what unites us. It has brought us together. From
the very first day until that present day, joy had filled their hearts and it
was centered on the Gospel.

People,
pastors, churches do not finish the work that God starts. He is the Alpha and
the Omega. He starts and finishes the work of salvation. God will take you all
the way to the Day of Christ. What day is that? It is the Last Day. The Lord
will get you to the Last Day. He will bring you to the end. It cannot be done
another way. There is always grace from God.

It
did not matter where Paul was—in prison, out of prison, defending the Gospel—he
was supported by the Philippians. They lived life together. They carried out Gospel ministry together. They fellowshipped in the Gospel. They were partakers of grace. We are all partakers of grace. Christians
must look at one another through the eyes of grace. None of us are perfect. We
are all sinners who are forgiven by grace.

Conclusion and Christian
Application

Until
“the Day of Christ,” we should:

(1) Be supportive of Gospel ministry.
This is what an Apostle rejoices over, and we would be safe to assume that this
is what pleases God. The care that the Philippians showed toward their Apostle
and evangelist was amazing. They continued to support his Gospel ministry long
after he left them, even when it was not easy for them. It is no wonder why
Paul was so thankful for the Philippians.

(2) Be charitable toward others and thus
motivate thanksgiving. When other believers think of you, what do they think?
Is it positive or negative? Are people thankful for you? Now, not everything we
do will receive a pat-on-the-back or a thank-you-card in return, but are you
being charitable toward others and giving others a reason to be thankful for
your presence in their life?

(3) Be thankful for those around you. Be
specific when you go to God in prayer. Who has been there for you in the hard
times? Who has supported you when you needed it most? Who has gone out of their
way to help you? Name them to God, and like I said before, also be one of those
people.

If we
were to do a study in the New Testament about the resurrection of Christ, we
would quickly see that all the persons of the Triune God—Father, Son,
Spirit—all had something to do with raising Jesus from the dead. For our brief moments in the Scripture this
morning, I would like for us to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit. You will remember that toward the beginning
of the Gospel story, the angel Gabriel visited Mary with news that she would
conceive and give birth to a son. The
boy would be called Jesus and would reign forever over the house of Jacob. Mary had never known a man, so she asked how
these things would be. Gabriel told her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will
overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called
the Son of God.” At the beginning of
Jesus’ ministry, He went to John the Baptizer at the Jordan River, and the
Scripture says, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the
water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.”
The Spirit is the One who drove Christ into the wilderness for
tempting. When He returned and started
His ministry, He did so “in the power of the Spirit.” Jesus said that He cast out demons by the
Spirit of God. He also said that He
proclaimed Good News by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was involved in Jesus’ life and
ministry from the beginning to the end—even the very end.

The
Scripture also teaches that the Spirit entered the tomb where Jesus had been
buried and raised Him to life on the third day.
That is what we have gathered to celebrate today. I would like to take you to Romans 8 and
discuss the Spirit of Easter for just a few minutes.

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The Flesh (8)

There
are two categories in which people can function: in the flesh or in the
Spirit. The “flesh” is the way of the world,
the way of this present, wicked age. It
is selfish and sinful. It is called the
“Adamic” nature because we have inherited it from our first father, Adam, who
sinned in Garden in the beginning. When
we set our minds on the things of this world, we set our minds on things that
will soon pass away. This world and the
things of this world do not last forever.
When we pursue the things of this world, they may seem gratifying but
only for a brief moment. There is no
lasting joy for you in the things of this age.
There is certainly no approval or blessings from God when you are in the
flesh. You cannot please God in any
way. In fact, those who operate in the
flesh, which is most people, have made themselves enemies of God by their own
wicked works. Those who are in the flesh
have set themselves up against almighty God.
There is no hope for those who persist in the flesh.

The Spirit (9-10)

Yet,
there is hope for those who forsake the flesh, turn to God by faith in Christ,
and trust in Christ’s accomplishments on the cross. Those achievements at Calvary have been
approved by God which is seen is the resurrection. God accepted Christ’s sacrifice to atone for
the sins of the world, and He has declared this truth powerfully in the raising
of His Son. God has done all the
work. All we have to do is turn
and trust.

When
you do put your faith in Christ, you are born-again. This is not some fundamentalist way of saying
that you are obeying some religious system.
Rather, to be born-again is to be born from above. It is to experience a spiritual rebirth by
the power of God’s Holy Spirit. It is to
experience a spiritual resurrection because apart from Christ you are dead. When you are born again, the Spirit comes to
dwell in you and you are made alive! So,
here is the thing, if you do not have the Spirit of Christ in you—you have not
been born again—and you do not belong to Christ.

Yet,
if you have been born again, although your body is dead because of sin, you
will be brought to life. Your spirit has
been made alive and your body will also be raised from the dead. God is the God of resurrection. He is the God of life. In fact, Jesus said, “I AM the Resurrection
and the Life.”

The Spirit of Easter (11)

Now,
let’s focus in on verse eleven. Our
spirits have been made alive, and we have the promise that our bodies will be
made alive as well. But, how can we be
so sure? Our confident hope may be based
on the Spirit who indwells us. That same
Spirit that raised Jesus to life is the One who indwells us and will also give
life to our mortal bodies. Christ’s
resurrection is the firstfruit of ours.
His is the basis of our hope. His
is the forerunner and guarantee of resurrection life for all those who are
united with Him. And the resurrection
power that the Spirit wields is not just to resuscitate our regular, ol’
bodies. His power raises us and
transforms us. We are given bodies that
do not die.

Led by the Spirit (12-14)

Not
much else needs to be said this Resurrection Sunday. But look at the last three verses today. We are called debtors. What is the debt that we ought to pay? We should forsake the flesh, which only leads
to death anyway, and pursue righteousness.
Our obligation is to live in Spirit-destroying power. By the Spirit we put to death the sinful
deeds of the body. Our obligation is to
live righteously knowing that we have already been saved.

Conclusion: There is Good News. Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. The same Spirit who raised Him from the dead
has given us new spiritual birth, indwells us, empowers us for holy living, and
guarantees life for our mortal bodies.
Live in the power and promise of the Spirit of Easter!